CFO Fired For His Tweets

This is a cautionary tale for any of your “over-sharers” on Twitter or Facebook: A CFO of a major fashion company lost his six- to seven- figure job over company-related tweets.
Gene Morphis has a pretty innocuous social media presence. His Twitter account, @theoldcfo tweets financial observations and musings on politics, but nothing too controversial. He also has a blog with posts about adventure travel and classy cigars, and a Facebook account just like the rest of us.

But the Wall Street Journal reports that his tweets might not have been totally innocent after all, as they’re the cause of his abrupt termination from his position as Chief Financial Officer of fashion retailer Fancesca’s Holdings Corp.

On Monday, Morphis was unceremoniously let go of his position – which had netted him $1.2 million in 2010 and $566,000 in 2011 – because he “improperly communicated company information through social media” while sending out his 140-character thoughts.

Although no tweets were cited specifically, and neither Morphis nor his former employer would comment, the Wall Street Journal dug up some company-related tweets that might have been part of the problem.

In March, Morphis tweeted at least twice about board meetings:

“Dinner w/Board tonite. Used to be fun. Now one must be on guard every second.”

“Board meeting. Good numbers=Happy Board.”

He also mentioned specific numbers on his Facebook page, updating his status in January to read:

“Roadshow completed. Sold $275 million of secondary shares. Earned my pay this week.”

We’re not sure if it was any particular update, or just the fact that he was tweeting about the company in general, that got Morphis the ax. But let it be a lesson to anyone who tweets about their boring morning meetings and the way their boss’ teeth look: sharing too much on social media could get you fired.